Suicide Squad Review

Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer, was definitely one of my most anticipated films of the year. The trailers to me were so fun and the film's marketing campaign really caught my eye. I'm already feeling major superhero fatigue and every time I see a new movie, I get up questioning why I watched it. They all eventually meld together into one glob that follow all the same tropes. I think that's why this movie got me excited. It looked a bit different and seemed like a fun time. When overwhelmingly negative reviews of the film came out, my anticipation immediately dropped and I was indifferent about seeing the movie. Then fan reviews started coming out and peoples' polar opposite and varying opinions combined with all the press the film was getting about multiple edits made me decide to give Suicide Squad a chance. I didn't have very high expectations since almost everyone(whether they liked it or not) said the film was a complete mess. I was just too curious to form my own opinion on the whirlwind of media stories and reviews coming out for the movie. So... this movie is actually pretty enjoyable. The beginning is great in my opinion. The introduction to each character's origin is interesting and the big and bold words that pop up to give each person's name and killing stats really captures the fun elements I wanted Suicide Squad to have. After I heard Jared Leto's Joker was much more forceful and mobster-like rather than psychological, I got really worried. However, Leto kills it as this character and every time he and his minions storm or gun down an area you are able to sense the fear that the Joker creates and the unpredictable nature of his actions. I didn't believe for one second I wasn't going to compare this interpretation to Heath Ledger's in the Dark Knight. Surprisingly, I didn't stack the two up next to each other. Leto's version is so different and good that it doesn't really warrant comparison. The best parts of the film are without a doubt the Harley Quinn and Joker interactions. I would have loved to see a story just about the two of them. The movie at times does get overly into itself with certain music choices and bright colors, but I still enjoyed those parts. I completely understand why people don't like this film but I had an entertaining and fun time and could easily see myself watching this repeatedly on blu-ray. The original music is great! Steven Price composed the music  and deserves a lot of credit. Now to the bad... The villain is just awful. There is no other way to put it. The big bad feels like some overly CGI figure that belongs in a crappy Gods of Egypt like movie. This movie would have been so so so so cool if the Joker was the main villain. Also, the last 30-45 minutes kind of lost me. The last action sequence is not good since it centers around fighting a crappy villain. Plus, that's the point in the film when they start to push that the team feels like a band of brothers. I don't want that!! I want these villains to be egotistical and have their own agendas. I am fine with them having emotional attachments with one another but not after one mission and I still want it to seems like first and foremost they are going to fend for themselves before helping anyone. The dialogue before Harley Quinn killed the big bad was terrible and I felt like Margot Robbie overacted that scene. In no world should she be killing for "her friends(aka the Suicide Squad)." Maybe she could have killed her to avenge Joker's death (even though he ends up alive but she doesn't know that at the time). Why the heck does Rick Flag think by crushing the spirits heart, his girlfriend will die? It said at the beginning of the film that the spirit just finds a body to inhabit. Crushing the heart obviously would just kill that part of her, right? At least that's how I saw it. That could be a little harsh and just something that irked me but who knows. Lastly, as the film concluded, it portrayed the villains as winning since they got things like espresso makers for saving the city. I thought there should have been a greater feeling of defeat when in the end, Amanda Waller still is in power and got away with her scheme. I still really recommend the film giving it a B-